Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., introduced a resolution on Friday to remove Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., from the House Homeland Security Committee after her controversial statement during a visit to Mexico in which she declared, “I am a proud Guatemalan before I am an American.”
The comments sparked criticism from lawmakers and commentators who say her statement undermines her role on a committee tasked with protecting the United States.
Gimenez, the only Cuban-born member of Congress, said her statement amounted to a violation of her oath of office and disqualified her from serving on a panel dedicated to national security.
“I was born in Cuba and exiled from my homeland shortly after the communist takeover,” Gimenez told Fox News Digital before filing the resolution during the House’s pro forma session.
“Everything I am, I owe to this exceptional country of limitless opportunities that paved the way for a Cuban refugee like me to become a firefighter, fire chief, city manager, county commissioner, county mayor, and yes, even a member of Congress. Only in America.”
Gimenez currently serves on the House Homeland Security Committee and chairs its maritime and transportation subcommittee.
“When a Member of Congress openly declares allegiance to a foreign nation over our own, it is not only unacceptable, it is disqualifying for service on a committee tasked with securing our homeland,” he said.
Ramirez, a member of the far-left “Squad,” has faced criticism from conservative figures following the remarks.
Actor James Woods responded to her statement on X, writing, “Well, okay then, Hasta La Vista.”
Commentator Matt Walsh suggested Ramirez “should be arrested.”
In response, Ramirez’s office issued a statement defending her comments. It accused “Republican commentators” and the Department of Homeland Security’s social media team of attacking her for “showing pride in her multi-cultural, multi-ethnic heritage.”
Ramirez, who was born in the U.S., claimed the criticism was “a weak attempt to silence my dissent and invalidate my patriotic criticism of the nativist, White supremacist, authoritarians in government.”
She continued, “It is the definition of hypocrisy that members of Congress, who betray their oath each day they enable Trump, are attacking me for celebrating my Guatemalan-American roots.”
Ramirez added that “no one questions” her colleagues who celebrate their Irish or other European ancestry. “I am the daughter of immigrants and the daughter of America. I am both Chapina and American. I am from both Guatemala and Chicago, Illinois.”
Gimenez has not indicated whether the resolution will be brought to a full vote, but the move underscores growing concerns among lawmakers about expressions of allegiance to foreign nations by sitting members of Congress.
